Laura Anne Stevenson (born April 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, and formerly a

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

for the

musical collective Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collegjthk ctive Souls" ''This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is distinct from th ...

Bomb the Music Industry! Bomb the Music Industry! (commonly abbreviated as Bomb or BtMI!) were an American punk rock musical collective from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, United States, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenstock. ...

Biography

Stevenson was raised in

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...

. Her grandfather,

Harry Simeone Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song "The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit. Early years Simeone was born ...

, was a successful pianist and composer whose works included "

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 19 ...

" and "

Do You Hear What I Hear? "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record ...

". His wife, Margaret McCravy, was a singer for the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bandleader

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

. After leaving home for college, Stevenson began both playing guitar and writing

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

. Growing up in

Rockville Centre Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Histo ...

, Stevenson befriended members of

the Arrogant Sons of Bitches The Arrogant Sons of Bitches (commonly abbreviated as ASOB) was a 6-piece ska punk band from Long Island and Baldwin, New York. The band was known for its strong DIY punk roots, self-releasing two albums and two EPs. Their final album, ''Three ...

. After they disbanded in 2005, she was appointed keyboard player for the lead singer

Jeff Rosenstock Jeffrey Ernest Rosenstock (born September 7, 1982) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter from Long Island, New York. He is known for his former bands Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, as well ...

's new project,

. At this point, she had written a number of songs and was performing solo. While recording and touring with Bomb the Music Industry!, she began to piece together her own band. Initially, Stevenson's band consisted primarily of members of Bomb the Music Industry!. In summer 2007, Stevenson met

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the s ...

of the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Latterman Latterman is an American semi-active four-piece punk rock band from Huntington, New York, United States. A melodic punk rock band with vocals shared by Phil Douglas and Mattie Jo Canino, their songs often contain political and/or socially con ...

who began playing bass guitar in her band. Alex Billig was added on trumpet and accordion, and a year later Stevenson began working on her first studio recording.

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

released "A Record" on April 13, 2010, on LP and CD. The group spent more than half of that year on tour in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Western Europe in various line-ups with Bomb the Music Industry!,

Maps & Atlases Maps & Atlases is an American indie rock group from Chicago, Illinois, United States, equally influenced by alternative rock, folk and experimental music. In addition, they have been labeled as a math rock band. The band has released three o ...

, Cults, among others. The band officially signed to the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

independent label

Don Giovanni Records Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene but eventually working with a variety of artists from different genres. History Don Giovanni Records was fo ...

in November 2010, and their second album, ''

Sit Resist ''Sit Resist'' is the second album by Laura Stevenson & The Cans. The album was released by Don Giovanni Records Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey mus ...

'', was released on April 26, 2011. Stevenson's third full-length album, ''Wheel'', was produced and mixed by Kevin S. McMahon at Marcata Recording. It was released on April 23, 2013, on

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

had previously premiered the first single from the album, "Runner". Stevenson toured the U.S. in April and May in support of the album. On October 30, 2015 Stevenson released her fourth album ''Cocksure'', on

, and the band toured in the United States and Europe in support of the release. On December 7, 2016, Stevenson released her first live album, recorded at Vera Club and released it via

Quote Unquote Records Quote Unquote Records is a donation-based online independent record label, founded and run by Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman Jeff Rosenstock. The label is an example of Rosenstock's DIY ideals. Many of the l ...

, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. Stevenson's fifth studio album '' The Big Freeze'' was released on March 29, 2019 and debuted on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

at #11 Alternative New Artist Albums, #35 for Heatseekers Albums, and #41 for Current Alternative Albums. Her sixth album, ''

Laura Stevenson Laura Anne Stevenson (born April 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from Long Island, New York, and formerly a keyboard player for the musical collective Bomb the Music Industry! Biography Stevenson was raised in Nassau County, New Y ...

'', was released on August 6, 2021.

Members of Laura Stevenson's band

*Laura Stevenson: guitar/vocals * Mike Campbell: bass guitar *Alex Billig: accordion/trumpet *Peter Naddeo: guitar *Samantha Niss: drums

Discography

Studio albums

Jeff and Laura

Singles, EPs, live releases

References

External links

Official websiteMaster Of Art – Laura Stevenson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Laura American women singer-songwriters American singer-songwriters American folk singers 1984 births Living people American folk rock musicians Don Giovanni Records artists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers